International SOS protects Dartmouth travelers
At any given time, someone from Dartmouth is traveling overseas. Whether
it's a faculty member studying source materials in a far-flung library, a
student participating in a Foreign
Study Program, a graduate engaged in an Alumni Relations travel
program or an administrator going abroad as part of his or her job,
globe-hopping is an integral part of the Dartmouth experience. International
travel entails risks, whether they stem from natural disasters or political
tensions, and the College is offering a new program that provides added
protection through a contractual agreement with International SOS.
"This is an appropriate protection for our community," says
Director of the Office of Integrated
Risk Management and Insurance (OIRMI) Henry "Hank" James.
"Benefits include everything from pre-trip advice on travel, security and
health issues by country; translation and interpretation services; and
management of medical problems overseas to emergency medical
evacuation."
As one of the world's largest medical and security assistance companies,
International SOS provides a wide range of services to international travelers.
The company maintains a staff of over 3,000 doctors, nurses, multilingual
coordinators and travel and aviation specialists whose services are available
24 hours a day in more than 100 countries on five continents, and in over 70
languages.
In response to the recent tsunami disaster in nations in the Asian Pacific,
the company has deployed numerous operations groups, including a 24-hour center
in Phuket, Thailand, and a missing persons team. International SOS is also
conducting evacuations and case management in the area and is maintaining an "Asia Pacific
Natural Disaster" Web site.
The coverage Dartmouth is able to offer came about as the result of a
negotiation involving several colleges and universities. Schools that now
participate in the program as a consortium include Columbia, Brown, Princeton,
Johns Hopkins, Temple, Rutgers, Howard, and Tufts universities as well as
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Universities of Vermont and Delaware,
George Washington University, Washington University in St. Louis and the
University of Pennsylvania.
"The benefit of having multiple institutions was that we heard many
perspectives on travel risk and that combined knowledge resulted in more
comprehensive protection for our community," says Chris Boroski, Associate
Director of OIRMI.
James and Boroski are in the process of getting International SOS membership
cards to campus departments whose programs focus on international travel. The
cards, which carry a special Dartmouth identification number, have so far been
distributed to faculty, staff and students in Off-Campus Programs, the Dickey and Rockefeller Centers, and Alumni Relations.
For Kenneth Yalowitz, director of the Dickey Center for International
Understanding, international travel is a way of life and the Center manages a
number of programs that send students and faculty members abroad. "I think
we should be very enthusiastic about the International SOS program," he
says. "The fact that the College has decided to become an International
SOS institution tells us that the institution is concerned about the safety of
students, faculty and alumni traveling abroad in a post-9/11 world. As a
department that manages programs that help fund all these constituencies, we
are glad we can provide them with an International SOS card. Not only does it
provide an added degree of security, but it reminds everyone that international
travel is a serious undertaking nowadays, and that they should avoid
unnecessary risk-taking while they are abroad."
"The International SOS program has been available to students and
faculty associated with our Off-Campus Programs since the beginning of the 2004
fall term and has become an important element in the overall health and safety
strategy for these programs," said John Tansey, Executive Director of
Off-Campus Programs. "The feedback we've received from faculty, students
and parents has been overwhelmingly positive."
The International SOS program is experienced in working with healthcare
providers and insurers in the United States. "One of the most attractive
features of the program," says Boroski, "is its coordination service.
If someone should fall ill overseas, International SOS will establish an
account and pre-pay all of their medical expenses. They will then coordinate
billing processes with the employee's regular health insurance provider here at
home, providing medical report translation services and even currency
conversion information as necessary."
James urges all Dartmouth employees and alumni who travel on College
programs to consider obtaining an International SOS card, and to complete the
online Personal Travel Record prior to any international trip. "It's a
simple process," he says. "People can get a card online or in person
here at the risk management office.
The International SOS/Dartmouth website
provides a pdf file that contains the Dartmouth identification card. Employees
can print this file and use it as their card, or they can obtain a card
directly from the Office of Integrated Risk Management and Insurance at 53
South Main Street in Hanover, Suite 212; phone 646-2442.
By LAUREL STAVIS
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